Changes in the international trade in live seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) after their listing on CITES Appendix II

In this new Fisheries Centre Research Report (FCRR), Project Seahorse team members, with members of the IUCN SSC Seahorse, Pipefish and Seadragon Specialist Group investigated the international live trade in seahorses by species, countries of origin, whether specimens were wild sourced or cultured, destinations, volumes, and their changes over time. We did this by undertaking extensive stakeholder interviews, as well as reviewing government and industry datasets to compare seahorse trade across three geographies and four time periods – from pre-listing by The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), through to late in the CITES review process (2013-2020). In addition to the global overview, we also delved into two main destination markets for the live seahorse trade: the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (U.S.).

This case study offers a number of recommendations to CITES and its Parties. Overall, implementation of adaptive management plans appropriate to the national situation will help ensure that the trade in live seahorses for aquaria is sustainable and legal, particularly as the specimens are usually targeted and the trade is small-scale.

Foster, S.J., Justason, T., Magera, A.M. & A.C.J. Vincent (2021). Changes in the international trade in live seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) after their listing on CITES Appendix II. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 29(4), 115pp. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/82124